McCammon finished for the season
Injury vs. Marshall sidelines Owls RB
The FAU Owls lost a key running back for the rest of the season.
Florida Atlantic coach Willie Tag ga rt said Monday that Larry McCammon III is out for the remainder of the season because of an ankle injury he sustained against Marshall on Oct .24.
Taggart, who didn’t recall at the time which ankle was injured, said the team thought McCammon’s ankle was originally sprained but they discovered there was a torn tend on in the ankle.
Taggart added the sophomore running back will have surgery on the ankle.
M cC am mon didn’ t play in the Owls’24-3 win versus UTSA on Saturday at FAU Stadium.
He rushed for 43 yards on six attempts in FAU’s season-opening win versus Charlotte before recording 36 rushing yards on a team-high 11 attempts against Marshall. The sophomore will end the season with 79 rushing yards on17 attempts and nine receiving yards on two receptions.
McCam mon has been an integral part of the Owls’ tailback unit since joining the program last season. He finished with the second-most carries (91) and rushing touchdowns (seven) on the team behind Malcolm Davidson in 2019 while adding 324 rushing yards and 88 receiving yards on 13 receptions.
With McCammon out, expect Davidson to receive more carries, with Taggart saying the junior running back would’ve been more involved in the offense regardless of McCammon’s injury.
Davidson had seasonhighs of 115 rushing yards and 14 attempts (8.2 yards per carry) in the win versus UTSA for the fourth 100-yard rushing game of his FAU career after limited action in the Owls’ first two games.
“We’re going to play people that produce, and right now he’s producing and making plays for us,” Taggart said.
“Shame on us for not playing him. You’re going to continue to see a lot more of Malcolm as we continue to go.”
Davidson, who’s rushed for 195 yards on 26 carries (7.5 yards per attempt, which is No. 11 in the nation) on the season, has been FAU’s most productive running backover the last two seasons.
He led the Owls in rushing attempts (102), yards (711) and touchdowns (nine) in 2019.
“He has really good vision and the biggest thing is his patience,” Taggart said of Davidson. “He sets the blocks up and allows them to happen, and then he puts his foot in the ground and goes.
“He’s been slippery when trying to be tackled. He doesn’t run with the same physicality you see with some folks. He’s more smooth and slashy with it, and sometimes he just runs through tackles. The stronger he gets and when he really starts running through tackle, the kid will have a hello f a future ahead of him.”
Taggart added that BJ Emmons, who missed Saturday’s game with a sprained ankle, practiced with the Owls on Sunday. The senior running back was injured in the first quarter of the win against Charlotte, finishing with four carries for 13 yards versus the 49ers.
“If he keeps practicing like he did yesterday,” Taggart said, “he’ll be good togo[ against Western Kentucky on Nov .7].”
Taggart added James Charles will be “ready to go for us this weekend,” after getting hurt a couple of times against UTSA.
FAU entered the season with its tailback unit being one of its most talented and deepest groups on the team, so Taggart’s confident the group will continue to produce at a high level.
Kelvin Dean Jr., a red shirt freshman running back who saw limited action last season, had six carries for five yards against UTSA.
“Wehave a lotof backs,” Taggart said. “Knock on wood to make sure we keep them, butwe should be fine.”
He added he doesn’t expect to move Tyrek Tisdale back to running back after the redshirt junior switched to outside linebacker during fall camp.
“We think Tisdale is in a good position,” Taggart said.
“He can continue to grow there and be a player for us there on the defensive side of the ball.”